RESOLUTION OF THE COMMITTEE Augmented Human: optimising the human

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1 59 RESOLUTION OF THE COMMITTEE Augmented Human: optimising the human Glasses and protheses have been employed for many centuries to optimise the human body. As of now a new wave of modifying the body is being initiated: by means of the google glasses or a ring that can name objects using a camera. What will the human being look like in 20 years time? Will our skills be extended through implants, drugs or other technical means? proposed by: Ben Bals (Christophorus-Gymnasium), Ben-Luca Berthold (Gymnasium Reutershagen), Viktoria Ehlert (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Alina Gazizova (Erasmus-Gymnasium), Natalie Jaster (Christophorus- Gymnasium), Heinrich Jonas (ecolea), Vinh Nguyen Quoc (Erasmus- Gymnasium), Max Philipp (Christophorus-Gymnasium), Jule Philipp (Gymnasium Reutershagen), Johannes Schmidt (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Nele Steinhäuser (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Jonas Trappe (ecolea), Tobias Voigt (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Sidney Berlin (moderator) We have assessed: 1. Self-Optimization That the growing self-optimization trend is accelarated by technology (e.g., through smartphones) which allows for self-qualification and the assessment of the human being through data; That the collected information is vulnurable to hacking, selling and abuse (e.g., for advertisement). 2. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) The possibility of screening for diseases / abilities to get a disease; That the Embryonenschutzgesetz protects embryos from further screening for nonmedical reasons in Germany.

2 60 3. Way of Life That we live in a hedonistic society in which many people have the illusion of not having to do much for society; That many only act in their own best interested and shy away from working; That our wasteful and unhealthy way of living in many cases leads to health problems, including obesity, which strain our health insurance system. 4. Cost Factor of Health Care That the demographic change and our growing life expectancy lead to a drastic increase in health insurance costs; That currently there is a two-tier medical care system in our society in which the type of treatment is based on the financial situation of the patient leading to a higher medical standard for rich people. 5. Pensions / Demographic Change That the number of people being 60 years of age or older will increase drastically in the next decades; That the pension costs therefore will surge dramatically since the amount of people receiving pensions grows and the number of workers who pay into the pension insurance decreases. 6. Unfair Resource Distribution / Waste That natural and human resources are distributed unequally among all countries in the world. That especially Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) lack access to medical treatment and knowledge. We claim: 1) Strict international personal data protection laws to a) Ensure privacy protection, b) Prevent abuse of the collected personal data, c) Ensure that only information which is shared voluntarily could be seen publicly; (accepted) 2) To keep the laws concerning PGD to prevent too much screening and selective abortions for non-medical reasons, and recommend the implementation of mandatory drug tests for pregnant women (no alcohol, no smoking etc.); (rejected)

3 61 3) To set incentives for a change in the way of living by a) Giving extensive background content on healthy living in schools for at least 1 semester (Sek. I), b) Incentivizing a healthy way of life (e.g. cost-saving in insurance premiums), c) Enforcing a duty to mark unhealthy / dangerous ingredients; (rejected) 4) A centralized health insurance system a) Which is more efficient than the current pluralistic one, b) Which gives the same chances to everyone, c) To which everybody has to pay a percentage based upon one s income; (accepted) 5) That there is a need a) To increase the retirement age, b) To give health insurance benefits to working people in retirement age, c) To increase pension insurance fees, d) To keep health care up for everyone; (rejected) 6) That all countries, especially developed nations, need to use their resources responsibly and call for the release of patents for medical devices and treatment as well as pharmaceutical products to LEDCs. (rejected)

4 62 RESOLUTION OF THE COMMITTEE Imitating Nature Imitating nature through a modular system that is what synthetic biology is about. Scientists hope for new medication and new pharmaceutical ingredients. How is that supposed to function? How can we imitate new biological pieces, gadgets or systems? And don t we overstep the mark here? proposed by: Christopher Basylewicz (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Mascha Dinga (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Lennart Findewirth (Gymnasium Reutershagen), Melanie Harder (ecolea), Max Kock (Gymnasium Reutershagen), Wiebke Kuhlmann (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Leon Kwiatkowski (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Tuan Tung Nguyen (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Lukas Schumacher (Gymnasium Reutershagen), Lena Schwarz (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Iskander Suleiman (Gymnasium Reutershagen), Florian Thrams (Innerstädtisches Gymnasium), Michael Fengler (moderator) We have assessed: 1. Having adopted the definition of Synthetic Biology as an emerging discipline that uses engineering principles to design and assemble biological components where ICT, biotechnology and nanotechnology meet and strengthen each other. Therefore it is necessary to model and imitate nature thus understanding how nature works and to use this knowledge to possibly interfere or manipulate biological systems for solving complex human problems. 2. Acknowledges that Synthetic Biology holds great possibilities and already reached several accomplishments. The Nobel Prize of 2013 has been given to three scientists which deciphered how the molecular freight is transported within cells by researching sciences. It is also possible to remodel DNA called genetic engineering, as well as replicating simple chromosomes. 3. Recognizing the importance of synthetic biology as part of medical progress to find treatments and cures for deadly and widespread diseases.

5 63 4. Bearing in mind that living systems are complex which is caused by its time varying dynamics, nonlinearity, multilevelness and self-organization/emergence. This leads to uncertainties and that leads to risks. Scientists are aware of unpredictable reaction of modified transcripts in reality thus harm on man and environment, alien organisms, the development of new synthetical weapons and Bioterror. 5. Additionally noticing that anyone in the USA has the ability to purchase base pairs of a genetic sequence online at a rough cost of 0,2 cents per base pair. 6. Reminding that the research of organ printing and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a sub branch of synthetic biology. 7. Observing that the heavy dependence of our society on knowledge and information leads to an increasing importance of life science on the global economy. 8. Aware of the difficulty of exchanging medical data from patients between Federal States and/or between states because of data safety. 9. Deeply concerned by the fact that European cancer research projects do not receive sufficient funds to reach their potential. We claim: 1. The risks of bioerror, bioterror and mixed gene pools will be diminished by measures, such as but not limited to: a.) Restricting the access to sequence information about select agents, b.) Monitoring the sale of chemicals and lab equipment, c.) Instructing federal agencies by the governmental body to improve the screening process by profiling and software engineering, d.) Implementing barcodes that identify the creator of a synthetic organism in order to prevent scientists from breaching the set regulations. e.) Introducing a Statute which makes it illegal to produce, synthesise, or engineer any part of variola virus. (rejected) 2. The German Government will examine the BMG (Bio Manufacturing Guide) classification system to ensure it meets the requirements of future scientific development. (accepted) 3. Synthetic biologists have a responsibility to ensure their work isn t making terrorism easier, therefore an ethics advisory committee (EAC) will be developed and advice will be freely available and confidential via an Ethics Hotline and an ethics clearing house website where members could report potential accidents and biosecurity threats.

6 64 (rejected) 4. Creates the German National Fund for Environmental Concerns (GNFE), that gives out financial aid to research facilities that work to solve the issue of breaking down air and water pollutants and/or providing clean energy, when the following criteria are fulfilled a.) progress must be reported and reviewed within a 6 month period, b.) the facility must pass safety inspections before conducting experiments and random checks throughout the procedures, c.) bio waste must be disposed in designated containers, d.) continued funding will be given with additional progress. (accepted) 5. Calls upon all member states of the European Union (EU) to increase their fund to the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) to a mutually agreed on amount annually, if a.) a fair share is invested into the research of: i.) 3D printing of organs, ii.) the development of a device that stimulates cell repair and generates regrowth, iii.) colon cancer, b.) the constant exchange of information and data between the sub facilities of CORDIS is guaranteed (accepted) 6. Supporting interdisciplinary, multinational and large-scaled work on synthetic biology by adapting data exchange. (accepted)

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8 66 Handover of the resolution Representatives of all five working groups hand over the approved resolution to Prof. Dr. Schareck as president of the Kuratorium Gesundheitswirtschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

9 67 Media Digest

10 68 Press release Press release of 14 January 2016 Schüler aus Rostock qualifizieren sich für Manchester Erstmals in Rostock: Der Verein [Rostock denkt 365 ] e.v. leitet das Europäische Schülerparlament vom 26. bis 28. Januar 2016 in Rostock zum Vorausscheid für das Sommerfinale in Manchester Wie sieht die Zukunft des Menschen aus? Das fragen sich an den o.g. drei Tagen über 80 Schüler von 5 Rostocker Schulen an der Universität Rostock. Damit ist Rostock neben Städten wie Athen, Barcelona, Jerusalem, Belgrad u.a. ein Veranstaltungsort von 13 weiteren Städten zur Durchführung des Europäischen Schülerparlaments. Das nationale Schülerparlament in Rostock wird sich zum o.g. Thema an 5 Unterthemen in Arbeitsgruppen austauschen. Das Parlament wird zweisprachig erfolgen. Die Schüler wurden aus Englisch-Leistungskursen delegiert. Unter Anleitung eines Wissenschaftlers werden sie hierzu in die Diskussion treten, sich austauschen, eine Meinung bilden, um am Ende der 3 Tage ihre Ergebnisse in einer Abschlusspräsentation vorzutragen, indem sie u.a. auch politische Empfehlungen geben können. Und das Besondere daran: 5 Schüler werden zum o.g. Thema zum europäischen Schülerparlament nach Manchester delegiert, um dort mit Schülern aus ganz Europa gemeinsam zu debattieren. Seit 2001 führt die Initiative Wissenschaft im Dialog Schülerparlamente auf nationaler Ebene zu aktuellen wissenschaftlichen Themen durch. Das erfolgreiche Konzept wurde 2013 erstmalig auf Europa ausgeweitet. Es wird in diesem Jahr in 13 europäischen Ländern durchgeführt. Aus den nationalen Parlamenten werden 5 Schüler delegiert, um im Sommer 2016 in Manchester zu debattieren. Der Minister für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur von Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Herr Mathias Brodkorb, übernimmt die Schirmherrschaft über das nationale Schülerparlament im Januar 2016 in Rostock. Das Projekt wird koordiniert durch Wissenschaft im Dialog und gefördert durch die Robert Bosch Stiftung und die Bayer Science & Education Foundation. Weitere Informationen zum Ablauf und zu den Unternehmen unter Ansprechpartner: [Rostock denkt 365 ] e.v. Albert-Einstein-Straße Rostock

11 69 Press release Press release of 27 January Schüler lesen der Rostocker Bürgerschaft die Leviten Erstmals in Rostock: Der Verein [Rostock denkt 365 ] e.v. leitet das Europäische Schülerparlament vom 26. bis 28. Januar 2016 in Rostock zum Vorausscheid für das Sommerfinale in Manchester Wie sieht die Zukunft des Menschen aus? Das fragten sich an den o.g. drei Tagen über 60 Schüler von 5 Rostocker Schulen an der Universität Rostock. Damit ist Rostock neben Städten wie Athen, Barcelona, Jerusalem, Belgrad u.a. ein weiterer Veranstaltungsort zur Durchführung des Europäischen Schülerparlaments. Das nationale Schülerparlament in Rostock hat sich zum o.g. Thema an 5 Unterthemen in Arbeitsgruppen ausgetauscht. Unter Anleitung eines Wissenschaftlers haben sie diskutiert und eine Gruppenmeinung erarbeitet. Der Abschluss bildet am 28. Januar 2016 eine parlamentarische Debatte aller Schüler im Bürgerschaftssaal des Rostocker Rathauses. Die Einzelergebnisse der 5 Arbeitsgruppen werden als Forderung für die Politik verlesen. Es schließen sich angelehnt an reale Debattenabläufe Verteidigungs- und Angriffsrede an, die in einer offenen Debatte im Gesamtplenum diskutiert werden und in ein abgeschlossenes Resolutionspapier münden. Wir laden Sie herzlich ein am 28. Januar 2016 um Uhr die letzte Debatte live mitzuerleben. Die 5 Resolutionspapiere werden um Uhr an Kommunalpolitiker übergeben. Den detaillierten Ablauf des morgigen Tages finden Sie auf der folgenden Seite. Die Debatte wird in englischer Sprache durchgeführt. Seit 2001 führt die Initiative wissenschaft : im Dialog Schülerparlamente auf nationaler Ebene zu aktuellen wissenschaftlichen Themen durch. Das erfolgreiche Konzept wurde 2013 erstmalig auf Europa ausgeweitet. Es wird in diesem Jahr in 13 europäischen Ländern durchgeführt. Aus den nationalen Parlamenten werden 5 Schüler delegiert, um im Sommer 2016 in Manchester zu debattieren. Das Projekt wird koordiniert durch Wissenschaft im Dialog und gefördert durch die Robert Bosch Stiftung und die Bayer Science & Education Foundation. Weitere Informationen unter Ansprechpartner: [Rostock denkt 365 ] e.v. Albert-Einstein-Straße Rostock

12 70 Press release Press release of 9 March 2016 Von Stammzellen bis gesunde Ernährung Jugendliche debattieren Wissenschaft Die seit 2001 von Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) veranstalteten Schülerparlamente bieten Schülern eine Plattform, sich mit aktuellen wissenschaftlichen Themen auseinanderzusetzen wurde erstmals dieses erfolgreiche Format auf europäische Ebene ausgedehnt. Die diesjährige Ausgabe steht unter dem Motto Wie sieht die Zukunft des Menschen aus? und wird in 17 Städten aus 14 Ländern ausgetragen, zum ersten Mal auch in der Hansestadt Rostock. Organisator des Rostocker Schülerparlaments ist [Rostock denkt 365 ], ein seit 2007 bestehender gemeinnütziger Verein, der erfolgreich Wissenschaftsmarketing für Rostock und ihre Region betreibt. Als Schirmherr konnte der Minister für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Herr Mathias Brodkorb, gewonnen werden. 61 Schülerinnen und Schüler im Alter zwischen 16 und 19 Jahren nahmen vom 26. bis 28. Januar am Schülerparlament in Rostock teil. Veranstaltungsort waren die kürzlich eingeweihten hochmodernen Gebäude des Instituts für Physik der Universität Rostock. In den ersten zwei Tagen diskutierten die Jugendlichen in Arbeitsgruppen gemeinsam mit Wissenschaftlern über fünf verschiedene Themen: The Human Brain, Living and eating healthy but how?, Stem cells the potential allrounders?, Augmented human: optimising the human und Imitating nature. Die abschließende parlamentarische Debatte fand am dritten und letzten Tag im Bürgerschaftssaal der Hansestadt Rostock starr, wo die Schülerinnen und Schüler über die erarbeiteten Positionspapiere der Arbeitsgruppen abstimmten. Die verabschiedete Resolution wurde dem Präsidenten des Kuratoriums Gesundheitswirtschaft des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und Rektor der Universität Rostock, Herrn Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schareck, feierlich überreicht. Die dreitägige Veranstaltung war sehr erfolgreich und begeisterte Teilnehmer und Wissenschaftler gleichermaßen. Die Schülerinnen und Schüler äußerten sich sehr positiv, nicht nur weil die Arbeitssprache an allen drei Tagen Englisch war, sondern auch weil sie durch die Besichtigung verschiedener wissenschaftlicher Institute und Firmen, praktische Erfahrungen sammeln konnten. Doch noch steht die finale Veranstaltung aus. Vom 25. bis 27. Juli 2016 findet im Manchester das abschließende Europäische Schülerparlament statt, wo Delegierte aus allen nationalen Schülerparlamenten zusammentreffen werden. Rostock wird mit fünf Schülerinnen und Schülern bei diesem Abschlussparlament vertreten sein.

13 71 Print Media Warnow Kurier 23 January 2016

14 72 Print Media Norddeutsche Neueste Nachrichten (NNN), front page 29 January 2016

15 73 Print Media Norddeutsche Neueste Nachrichten (NNN), page 9 29 January 2016

16 74 Print Media Ostsee-Zeitung (OZ), page 4 29 January 2016

17 75 tv.rostock The local TV station tv.rostock broadcasted a two minutes report on the parliamentary debate in the town hall on 28 January The broadcast could be watched on the internet from 28 January to 3 February. Furthermore the European Student Parliament was mentioned in the introducing part of the news programme.

18 76 Billboard advertising in Rostock Rostock s citizens were informed about the upcoming European Student Parliament by means of a placard campaign from 12 January till 2 February Many of the 88 placards could be seen in the city centre e.g. Neuer Markt, near the town hall Lange Straße, opposite the St. Mary s Church Breite Straße, in front of the movie cinema Capitol Pedestrian zone next to the Kröpeliner Tor, Doberaner Platz in different city districts, e.g. Südstadt, at the Kosmos Lütten Klein, Rigaer Straße Evershagen, Haltestelle Süd, but also on busy thoroughfares, e.g. Hamburger Straße, several locations Urban motorway Südring Rennbahnallee.

19 77 Hallo Manchester

20 78 Rostock delegates to Manchester Group 1: The Human Brain Lara Nadler School : Innerstädtisches Gymnasium Group 2: Living and eating healthy but now? Lea Zimdahl School: Innerstädtisches Gymnaisum Group 3: Stem cells the potential allrounder? Maxim Prus School: Erasmus-Gymnasium

21 79 Rostock delegates to Manchester Group 4: Augmented human: optimising the human Jonas Trappe School: ecolea Group 5: Imitating nature Tuan Tung Nguyen School: Innerstädtisches Gymnaisum Replacement Group 1: The Human Brain Tobias Kaphengst ecolea Group 2: Living and eating healthy Michelle Bernitt Innerstästisches Gymnasium Group 3: Stem cells Lucas Wendt ecolea Group 4: Augmented human Alina Gazizova Erasmus-Gymnasium Group 5: Imitating nature Wiebke Kuhlmann Innerstädtisches Gymnasium

22 80 Hallo Manchester

23 81 And finally I would like to close with some personal comments. When we got the invitation last summer to be one of the three cities in Germany to host the National Student Parliament I did not hesitate to say yes. The topics of 2016 fit very well to science and economy present in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The network BioCon Valley represents a number of research institutions and companies active in this field. Groups at the Universities as well as spin off companies belong to the pioneers in these fields. [Rostock denkt 365 ] is a strong network present in the Rostock regiopolis region with close ties to our schools. However, saying yes means, that there follows a lot of work. Many people have been mentioned already on the previous pages indicating their role in the whole project. I am very grateful to my colleagues who joined me in this experiment and took over roles as experts, mediators or allowing the students groups to visit their institutes or companies. I thank Alfred and Kathrin Flint for their valuable hints how to fit the parliament into the busy schedule of the students. I thank the whole team of [Rostock denkt 365 ] for their work and support, but especially Elke Gose, Sonia Cortes Sack and Patricia Huber for doing the work at the front end. I thank Robert Uhde for joining forces and bringing together Wissenskarawane and Debate Science. Both events aim at bringing science to students and students to science. The joined science party certainly increased the impact of both events. I thank the Department of Physics and the Department of Life, Light and Matter that we could use their rooms with the excellent facilities. This goes not without thanking Viola von Oeynhausen, Susanne Radloff and Bernd Völkel for support and troubleshooting the weeks before and on those days. Being in the Bürgerschaftssaal of the Rostock s City Parliament for the final debate certainly added to the special flair of the event. We are grateful that this was arranged very quickly from the very beginning with the help of Anka Schröder. My sincere thank goes to the directors and teachers of the schools we approached. They reacted fast and with enthusiasm allowing us to get the groups together very quickly. But above everything the spirit of the students over the three days was the biggest reward to our efforts. They came in part well prepared and warmed up very quickly and dug into the topics. In the final debate they proposed and argued, but also had to learn how fast the opinion may take a 180 turn in such a group. Thus a number of claims went through with a large majority, some were rejected and in some cases the committee had to count very exactly because it was very close. The show must go on is a well-known song from Queen, one of Great Britain s famous rock groups. Indeed, we will go on: Five delegates will go to Manchester in July 2016 to participate in the final event of the European Student Parliament. We will see that the resolution booklet will find its way to the right places allowing some of the ideas to grow and ripe. We are planning to present some of the ideas at the Night of Science in Rostock in April 2016 and we will report on the outcome on the Manchester event. Thus, the show will go on Udo Kragl

24 82 Our supporters We want to thank all our supporters and volunteers. Without their help and support the organisation of the Student Parliament wouldn t have been possible.

25 83 Imprint Publisher: [Rostock denkt 365 ] e.v. Editors of this issue: Association office Editorial deadline: March 2016 Contact data: [Rostock denkt 365 ] e.v. Albert-Einstein-Straße Rostock Germany Phone: + 49 (0) Fax: + 49 (0) denken@rostock365.de Homepage: Visit also our science soap website: Photos: We thank the IT and media center, media service of the University of Rostock as well as the members of our association for providing the pictures. Printing: IT- and media center, media service of the University of Rostock The rights of the published text, including the pictures, unless otherwise indicated, are with the association [Rostock denkt 365 ] and Wissenschaft im Dialog. Copyright only upon prior request in writing and stating the source. Rostock student-parliament:

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